


Champion

by SilverWolfATW



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Gen, PTSD, Space Dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 20:35:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10906992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverWolfATW/pseuds/SilverWolfATW
Summary: Holes in the past are holes in the truthHow can trust yourself, if there are gaps in the story?Pages have been torn, words blotted out, chapters missing...Every coin has two sidesIt shimmers as it spins, rotating in the airIt clatters to the dustBut what faces up?Close your eyes and count to tenTake a deep breath and try againThoughts are drifting through the windCalling the nameChampion





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story sort of based around Shiro's PTSD, and his self-doubt and fear about what he did when he was captured by the Galra, and what he might end up doing again...
> 
> If PTSD triggers you, then you might not want to read this story..

_You've been broken and reformed. Just look at your hand..._

_The others don't know what you know. They haven't seen what you've seen..._

_Do you really think a monster like you could be a Voltron Paladin?_

"Shiro...?"

_I made you strong and this is how you repay me?_

_You could have been our greatest weapon..._

"Shiro!"

With a sharp inhale, the Black Paladin flinched awake, eyes wide, heart pounding in his chest. He blinked, trying to gain his bearings. He vaguely remembered falling asleep, the lights of the control deck resonating a cool, comforting light. As the panic of the nightmare began to ebb, he seemed able to focus more acutely on his surroundings, his breath returning to a more normal speed.

The display before him was blinking lethargically, yielding the results of his search interrupted by slumber. Standing before him, one hand braced against the other's shoulder, purple eyes filled with concern, the Red Paladin pursed his lips.

"You alright?" he inquired softly. Shiro nodded numbly, sitting up in his chair, rubbing his eyes to help him shake off the lull of the recent restless sleep. "You were thrashing about. Were you...?" he trailed off uncertainly.

"Having a nightmare?" Shiro guessed. Keith nodded grimly, crossing his arms over his chest as he stepped back to let the Paladin stand up. He sighed, stretching slightly as he got to his feet.

"Maybe. Don't really know. I've already forgotten most of it," he lied. The dark-haired teen didn't seem convinced. Pulling on a reassuring smile, Shiro put a hand on the Red Paladin's shoulder.

"Don't worry about me, Keith. I'm fine. Promise."

The teen opened his mouth to reply, but before anymore could be said, the door opened, and the other Paladins came in, voices raised in playful argument.

"No way! Blue could beat your clunky lion any day, same size or not!" Lance was boasting while Hunk just shook his head, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, but my lion is smaller and more agile than both of yours, so she would _totally_ beat them in a race," Pidge offered with a sly grin. Keith turned to face them as they approached, a smirk on his face.

"If it's speed you're talking about," Keith remarked, "then Red and I would clean the floor with all of you."

As the teens bickered lightheartedly, Shiro returned to his seat, shadows still lingering in his eyes as he busied himself with mapping out possible plans of attack. He shuddered as the cold breath of his dream drifted down his spine, a movement that did not go unnoticed by the other Paladins. Keith's eyes drifted to him, Lance's gaze following in suit. They exchanged worried glances with the other two, but kept silent, feeling that now wasn't the time or place to confront their leader.

Shiro stared at the holographic display, not really seeing it, as he carefully kept his thoughts above the murky water slowly rising, threatening to drag him under... After a few more minutes, Shiro excused himself to his room, resting a hand distractedly on Hunk's shoulder as he passed, more out of reflex than anything else. When the door slid shut behind him, he let out an uneven breath, a cold feeling in his chest. He just couldn't shake the dream from his mind... It seemed to latch on and drain his presence, pulling him back into the past. A past shrouded with haze and black smoke, an unseen, foreboding existence that warded off wandering thoughts and conscious decision...

_So, Champion returns..._


	2. Chapter 2

A steady, comfortable hum of conversation resonated from the dining table as the team visited over the strange alien breakfast they'd come to love. The Princess sat at the head of the table, a curious smile on her face as Pidge and Hunk took turns explaining various Earth activities to her. Her eyes held polite astonishment, as if she wasn't quite grasping any of what they were saying, but was fascinated nonetheless. Keith and Lance were bickering softly, their words mumbled by tired brains to the point where one couldn't tell if they even knew what they were arguing about. Coran had already busied himself about the castle, having apparently been up for an hour or two already.

Amidst the conversation enough to be included, but lost enough in his mind to be completely detached, Shiro shifted his food around with his spoon. His dark grey eyes were tired, distant, not really seeing what was before him. The ghost of a smile remained on his face, more out of habit than real emotion. It was moments like this, unfocused and unguarded, that the others could really tell something was wrong.

Almost reflexively, a couple heads turned to their leader, as if sensing the change in aura around him. Keith and Lance exchanged a quick glance before the Blue Paladin, who happened to be sitting next their distracted teammate, nudged him with an elbow.

"Shiro, you alright there buddy?" he inquired, his voice casual and calm. The Black Paladin pulled himself from his thoughts, smiling warmly at Lance and the rest of the group.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" he assured them, seeming to come alive before them. His eyes lost their glossed look, the ghost replaced by a genuine-looking smile. It seemed no weight lingered on his shoulders.

"Guess I'm still waking up," he chuckled. Lance grinned, seeming content with his answer. At least for now. He wasn't really one for deep conversations or sentimental talks, so he was relieved to be spared for another time. Knowing the other paladin wouldn't be satisfied with his easy retreat, Lance avoided making eye-contact with Keith, though he felt as if he could feel the purple orbs burning into the back of his skull.

Breakfast trickled into conclusion as, one by one, members of the team got to their feet, taking their dishes into the kitchen. One of the last ones to leave, Shiro moved to remove his dishes as well. Before he could make it from the table, however, Allura put a gentle hand on his right arm, the metal surprisingly cold to the touch.

"Shiro," she began, choosing her words carefully. The Paladin turned to her with a patient, relaxed smile, and for a moment she wondered if perhaps he really was okay... she shook the doubt off. She needed to be sure. "After training today, come find me, will you? There's something I would like to talk with you about," she requested softly. Shiro nodded, concern flicking through his eyes.

"Of course, Princess," he agreed as the others came back into the room. Allura stepped back, making some comment about checking for nearby Galra activity. The last thing they needed was to be snuck up on during training.

"So what's the plan for today, Shiro?" Pidge inquired, stretching her arms out over her head.

Unnoticed by the group, the tightness in Shiro's chest faded, his mind relieved to have something to latch onto and focus on. He put his hands on his hips, shifting his feet to address the entire team.

"Suit up, Paladins. We're doing some group training today."

~*~*~*~*~

Armored up and chatting casually amongst themselves, four of the five Paladins awaited instructions from their leader, who had disappeared up to the training deck control room moments before.

"Alright, guys. We know how to form Voltron and fight as a team in our lions, but what about on our own two feet?" Shiro addressed them through the intercom system. "If we get separated from our lions, we need to be able to function together as effectively as in Voltron." Doubt flickered through a few eyes, but everyone nodded nonetheless.

"We'll start out in pairs, rotate, then as a group," Shiro explained, his voice holding its usual calm command. "Lance, you're with Hunk. Keith, with Pidge. You and your partner will need to work together to take down the training robot." As he spoke, two of the gladiator robots rose from opened panels in the floor, and the Paladins paired up as instructed, bayards at the ready.

Shiro watched from the control room, pride in his chest as he observed the younger teens. Hunk worked as the distraction, shouting jabs at the robot, shield up to fend off attacks as Lance backed up, looking carefully down his gun. He stood directly behind the Yellow Paladin, hidden completely from the gladiator's line of sight. Suddenly the blue-eyed teen called out.

"Drop!" he shouted. Instantly, Hunk dropped and rolled over backwards. The moment the way was clear, Lance pulled the trigger, a direct shot through the head that had the robot crumbling to its knees.

"Alright!" Hunk laughed, giving his friend a celebratory high five. Shiro smiled fondly, turning his gaze to the other pair.

Just as his eyes fell upon them, Pidge had wrapped the robot up, and Keith swung his sword in a wide arch, cutting the robot completely in two. Retracting her green grapple, Pidge pushed her glasses further up her nose. She smiled up at the other Paladin, who returned the gesture, holding out a fist for her to bump. With a small laugh, she obliged.

"Good work!" Shiro emphasized, beaming at how far the team had come. "Go ahead and swap up partners and we'll go again."

They ran the exercise again with Lance and Pidge working together, Keith and Hunk as the other pair, then once more, this time with a little more consternation.

"Keith, you're moving around too much! Keep him still, would you?" Lance complained. The Red Paladin shot him a dark look over his shoulder, blocking an attack from the gladiator.

"What kind of sharpshooter can't hit a target this close? Moving or not!" he hissed. Shiro pursed his lips, glancing over at Pidge and Hunk to see if they were having an easier time. He watched as the Yellow Paladin boosted the smaller teen up, flipping her up and over the robot, where she brought her weapon down hard, cutting the head clean off. She rolled back to her feet and punched the air with a shout of jubilation, Hunk laughing in success.

Keith let out a grunt of effort and annoyance as he flipped the robot over his shoulder, slamming it into the ground. Just as the gladiator moved to drag the Red Paladin down with him, his head was blasted off with a well aimed shot. Lance smirked smugly at the other individual, but Keith just rolled his eyes, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Awesome job, guys!" Shiro remarked, crossing his arms loosely. "Keep this up and I might let you have some free time," he considered with a small smirk. The sudden brightness in their tired eyes was evident even from up in the control deck, and the Black Paladin let out a soft laugh.

"You'll let us have free time, but what about Allura?" Pidge inquired, to the nods of her teammates.

"Yeah, she can be kind of... you know," Keith offered up helplessly. Shiro shook his head slightly in reserved amusement.

"If she gets on you about it, you can tell her to come talk to me. You all have worked really hard, and have come a long way. You deserve a break every now and then," he assured them. There was something laced in with his words, carefully layered underneath, woven in and melded. It wasn't quite identifiable, but it gave off an almost sad aura, so faint one couldn't be sure if the older paladin even noticed it himself.

"That being said," he began, his voice so suddenly back to normal a few wondered if they'd imagined it, "I've got one last exercise planned out. An obstacle course with hidden obstacles, activated manually by someone at the controls. Training robots are scattered about the course, and it's three strikes you're out, so watch your teammates back. It's all or nothing, so work together to get to the end." The Paladins absorbed this information with apprehensive excitement, nodding with a mixture of caution and eagerness.

"Since someone has to control it, I guess you guys are on your own," Shiro realized, shrugging softly. Hunk frowned slightly, exchanging looks with the others.

"But Shiro... I thought this was a team exercise. Without you, Team Voltron isn't complete," the Yellow Paladin reasoned. Lance nodded in agreement, and they looked expectantly up at their leader. Shiro opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, a bright voice spoke up from behind him.

"I can control the course, Shiro," Coran offered, walking confidently up to the controls. He gave him a proud smile, one hand on his hip, the other twisting his mustache. "With me at the helm, you Paladins don't stand a chance!" he boasted. Shiro smirked, but nodded, thanking the Altean and running down to join his teammates.

Once together, the Paladins grouped up at the start, weapons raised. Shiro stood a step behind them, his gaze drifting to his right arm, eyes beginning to cloud.

_It's the strongest part of you..._

Out of the corner of her eye, Pidge noticed Shiro's hesitation, his distant look. She bumped Keith with her elbow, and the Red Paladin turned to her slightly, his eyes darting to the older teammate. He pursed his lips, unease rippling through the others as the shroud around Shiro seemed to darken and spread, reaching out with cold fingers to drag the other Paladins down...

"Shiro...?" Hunk spoke up, putting a hand on his shoulder. The Black Paladin flinched back into the present, involuntarily shrinking away from the unexpected touch. Hunk removed his hand with a startled look, and the older paladin smiled apologetically at him. The gesture was weak, thinly veiled behind the shadows in his eyes, but the sight of it was enough to at least cease the rising tension. "We're uh... we're waiting on you," the Yellow Paladin explained, gesturing to the other's hand to indicate what he meant. Shiro's eyes followed his gesture, and his cheeks twitched in the slightest of grimaces.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," he mumbled. Another moment of painful silence passed as the teens watched their leader hesitate once more. His cyborg prosthetic was raised and ready for activation, but...

The feeling the other's gazes seemed to burn into him, and he let out a small huff before his right hand flashed with the purple-pink energy, lighting up his eyes in an unnatural way. Shaking the clouds off, he pulled on a confident smile and faced the obstacle course.

"Come on, guys. Let's show this course what we can do!" he rallied. After another heartbeat's hesitation, the Paladin tore their eyes away from their leader, burying the concern in their chests to bring up another time...

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Tired](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10923306) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account)




End file.
